Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)

(Federally listed as Endangered)

Description: A medium-sized woodpecker, approximately 8.5 inches
in length with a prominent white patch on each cheek and
black-and-white striped back. The woodpecker’s sides and belly
are lightly marked with black spots and streaks. Although the
male Red-cockaded Woodpecker has a tiny red patch behind each
eye near the ear (the cockade), the large white cheek patch is
the most conspicuous field mark for both sexes. This species is
often mistaken for the common Downy Woodpecker which has a white
back and a wide black stripe on each side of the head extending
through the eye and across the cheek. Red-cockaded Woodpeckers
feed on insects which they pick off the bark of trees.

Habitat: Red-cockaded Woodpeckers depend upon large tracts of
mature pine woodlands. Preferred habitat consists of mature live
pine trees (greater than 60 years old) growing in an open
woodland condition with a grassy understory. Nesting and
roosting cavities are excavated in live pine trees and the
woodpeckers seek out older trees that have become infected with
a fungal disease called redheart disease. Red-cockaded
Woodpeckers live in extended family groups that may contain two
to five adults plus the young from the current year’s brood.

Current and Historic Distribution: Currently, there are
approximately 15 family groups of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in
Oklahoma. All of these birds live in southeastern Oklahoma on
the McCurtain County Wilderness Area, which is owned by the
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and is the largest
tract of uncut pine forest in the state. Historically,
Red-cockaded Woodpeckers were more widespread in Shortleaf Pine
woodlands in the Ouachita Mountains. Outside of Oklahoma,
Red-cockaded Woodpeckers were once found in pine forests across
the southeastern United States, but currently they exist in
isolated populations in only eight other states.

Reasons for Decline: Forestry operations and other activities
that result in widespread cutting of old-growth timber have
limited the availability of suitable habitat for the
Red-cockaded Woodpecker which requires mature, living pine trees
that are at least 60 years old for nesting. Few areas of
old-growth pine remain in the U.S. to provide the habitat
required for this species.